Vernon, CT
Tasted Thursday, October 16, 2014 by salil with 398 views
A better showing than my last bottle, but again not especially compelling. A very smoky aroma leads into a palate full of ripe citrus fruit framed by oaky and herbal elements, medium weight on the palate with good acidity, not particularly complex but nicely balanced.
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I'm not sure if this was just a bad time to open a bottle or whether I just like these a lot better when young, but this was pretty hard and angular and not as enjoyable as it was on release. The fruit feels a lot leaner and a touch astringent, but there isn't much in the way of development here, and the finish feels a touch hollow.
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Pleasant but not a whole lot more. A rather smoky, slightly oaky aroma, and some bright red fruited flavours on the palate, but on the whole somewhat one-note and not particularly exciting.
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This comes across bigger and more intense on the palate than I remember it being on release - it's packed with bright, sappy red fruits, spices, and more savoury earthy and meaty notes, but there's also a faint spirity aspect to the nose with a trace of VA that never really blows off even after it's had some time to breathe. It's still nicely balanced on the palate, finishing long though I think I liked this more right after release.
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Not especially complex, but very nicely balanced and a lot of fun to drink now with plenty of bright red berried fruit tinged with earth and herbs on a graceful, medium weight palate.
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This is an outstanding bottle that delivers pretty much everything I want from a maturing Graves. Layers of fresh red and dark berried fruit, smoke, gravel, tobacco, and other savoury developed notes all come together on the nose and palate with a sense of elegance and finesse, and it just keeps getting better with air. This punches way above its weight, and it's a real eye opener.
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A really savoury fragrance - all gravel and earth with some faint herbal and peppery elements, and barely any trace of fruit in the scent. There's much more fruit on the palate though, lots of tart red berried flavours combining with the earthy and herbal notes on a lightweight frame that's carried by a bright acid spine. Very nice.
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Drinking beautifully right now. Lots of bright, sappy red fruits accented by gentle floral and earthy notes, all conveyed with a remarkable sense of grace and lightness on the palate. The tannin here is incredibly fine grained and most of the structure seems to come from an acid spine that keeps it very fresh and lively.
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My last bottle of this, and the best I've had so far. This is fantastic. There's remarkable depth here - a spectrum of fruit ranging from tarter red berried fruit to riper and more sappy plummy flavours, higher toned spicy and floral notes, and more savoury earthy elements all coming together on the nose and palate very seamlessly. The tannin is very fine grained, and this has a really polished, silken texture on the palate with a long, expansive finish. Outstanding.
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An immediate wow from the first sip. Last wine of the night opened for my tasting group and the first bottle to be completely empty, so clearly I wasn't alone in thinking that. A blast of smoke and fusel aromas on the nose leads into a palate that's incredibly complex with a basket of fresh orchard fruits layered with honey, flowers, developed smoky and creamy notes, and a vivid stony undercurrent. There's moderate sweetness matched by powerful acidity, and this is just outstanding Riesling. Glad I have more of this.
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2010 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Smaragd Hochrain 93 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
A powerhouse of a Riesling, packed with ripe citrus and tropical fruited flavours tinged with flamboyant floral, spicy and honeyed accents. Time and air bring out more savoury and mineral elements, and the balance is impeccable - it's a big wine with great intensity on the palate, but also a great deal of elegance with plenty of acidity beneath keeping it very fresh and lively.
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